IMAGE
Dr. Chua Thia-Eng
Book Reviews
020308
This is a very important book. Born in 1940 the author has devoted his life to the Seas of East Asia, gaining his doctorate at the University of Singapore and undertaking post-doctoral training at the University of Tokyo. His breadth of knowledge and commitment to his chosen subject have combined to make this an enjoyable and informative book. Aimed at the professionals engaged in coastal management, he has achieved a book that is readable for a very wide range of readers from the novice to the highly experienced professional. Professionals engaged in the management of the Seas of East Asia will find this an indispensable work of reference, with its many charts, tables and appendices. A wealth of experience and information is contained in the pages, delivered in clear and concise text. Great credit is due to the author for the intellectual work necessary to create such a work but credit should also go to those responsible for the layout, artwork and production. Published by PEMSEA this is a very affordable book that is available in both hardback and softback editions. The author writes with a style that is easy to follow without the reader having already studied the subject in depth. The layout makes this even easier because much of the necessary detail to support the author's contentions and conclusions is contained in boxes, tables and sidebars, allowing a novice to read through the main body of the text and then return to the detail when a basic understanding of the subject has developed through reading the main body of text. Those with a strong knowledge of the subject will find that the layout enables the reader to quickly move to the detailed information. Illustration is of a high standard and includes many full colour photographs that would not be out of place in a travel book. The charts and sketches are excellent and add further to the richness of this authoritative work. Having read many specialist white papers over the years, it is a joy for a reviewer to read work that combines detailed information of a complex series of related topics in a way that entertains and informs. Although the author is writing from a perspective and experience that is firmly rooted in the Seas of East Asia, so much of this knowledge can be profitably applied to any coastal management effort in any part of the world. Perhaps the major difference is that some areas, such as European coasts, are in eco-geographic zones that are now more than three hundred years into industrialization and urbanization, whereas the Seas of East Asia are in the grip of explosive development that is exerting great and sudden pressure on the ecology and society of this region. That does not mean that the earliest industrial societies have necessarily handled their own development well and there is much that they can learn from this appraisal of challenges and potential solutions. Within the pages are some observations and conclusions that will be controversial in some scientific areas and it would be disappointing if this was not to be the case. We each consider our own environment to be unique when there is always more in common than in difference. We are also to some extent captive to the established wisdom of our times and future generations will look back as we do on those who went before us and wonder why they drew some conclusions and embarked on some courses for action. The author has addressed this in considering that our mental processes determine the way in which we file and process information, leading to us responding subjectively to that information. In the popular enthusiasm to believe that climate change is leading to the destruction of mankind and that we are entirely to blame for this situation, it is dangerously easy to blindly follow a course that causes great hardship, wastes valuable resources and fails to address the real problems, using practical approaches. In the Seas of East Asia there are many significant challenges and considerable potential risk. The balanced approach set out by the author provides a basis for intelligent consideration of the issues.
R1412
Non Fiction
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The Dynamics of Integrated Coastal Management
433
US$18.00 - 34.34 softback, US$23.68 to 45.44 (Zone 1 Asian Countries to Zone 4 Africa, Caribbean, Central and South America)
PEMSEA Publications